Serena Williams claims victory in Australian Open tuneup
The 39-year-old, a seven-time Australian Open champion, restarted her lengthy quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles title with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Daria Gavrilova
Loading the player.
Serena Williams found a silver lining in the delayed start to the Australian Open, the season-opening Grand Slam tournament that is starting three weeks later than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Time.
Time to recover from an Achilles injury that ended her run at last year’s French Open before her second-round match. Extra time with her daughter, albeit in hotel quarantine.
Serena Williams admits Australian Open delay gave her time to get fully fit
Serena Williams at full stretch during her victory over Daria Gavrilova (Hamish Blair/PA)
Serena Williams revealed she may not have been able to play the Australian Open had it not been delayed after making a winning start to her 2021 campaign.
The 23-time grand slam singles champion withdrew ahead of her second-round match at the French Open last October with an Achilles injury she suffered at the US Open, and the problem took longer than expected to heal.
The need for players to complete quarantine on arrival in Australia meant the year’s first grand slam was pushed back by three weeks and, after beating Daria Gavrilova 6-1 6-4 at the Yarra Valley Classic, Williams said: “It was great for me because I needed the time, because I couldn’t practise because of my Achilles.
“So whew, that was an unwanted blessing, I would say. It was much needed for me.
Mark Brake/Getty Images
Serena Williams touched down in Adelaide on January 14 ahead of this month s Australian Open in Melbourne. “So I definitely took that time to recover and to just do the best that I can and, yeah, so now it s a lot better.” Hoping to match Margaret Court s record 24 grand slam singles titles this month, Williams remains as motivated in 2021 as she was as a teenager on her first visit to Melbourne in 1998. “I definitely get a lot of the same drive,” she said.
Pavlyuchenkova advances at Australian Open tuneup event
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has beaten Japan s Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-4 in a first-round match at the Yarra River Classic, one of six tuneup tournaments being played this week at Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open.
The Canadian Press Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova , The Canadian Press
MELBOURNE, Australia Serena Williams found a silver lining in the delayed start to the Australian Open, the season-opening Grand Slam tournament that is starting three weeks later than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Time.
Time to recover from an Achilles injury that ended her run at last year s French Open before her second-round match. Extra time with her daughter, albeit in hotel quarantine.